'A very special book about a family with a secret It made me laugh it made me cry it made me think' Liane Moriarty No 1 bestselling author of THE HUSBAND'S SECRETLaurie Frankel's THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS the 'fascinating story of a thoroughly modern family & the giant multifaceted love that binds them Sparkles with wit & wisdom' (Maria Semple) Perfect for readers of WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES & THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY This is how a family keeps a secretand how that secret ends up keeping them This is how a family lives happily ever afteruntil happily ever after becomes complicated This is how children changeand then change the world This is Claude He's five years old the youngest of five brothers & loves peanut butter sandwiches He also loves wearing a dress & dreams of being a princess When he grows up Claude says he wants to be a girl Rosie & Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be They're just not sure they're ready to share that with the world Soon the entire family is keeping Claude's secret Until one day it explodes Laurie Frankel's THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS is a novel about revelations transformations fairy tales & family & it's about the ways this is how it always is Change is always hard & miraculous & hard again parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers & full hearts children grow but not always according to plan & families with secrets don't get to keep them forever' An intelligent life-affirming emotionally charged story' Prima